The Happy Cobblers (1952)
Article 5854 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 10-1-2020
Directed by Eddie Donnelly
Voice cast unknown
Country: USA
What it is: Terrytoons takes on “The Shoemaker and the Elves”

Elves come out at night to make shoes for an aged cobbler, but the cobbler thinks the shoes are being made by his pet dachshund.

You know, I rather like that this cartoon throws a twist into this familiar story by incorporating the plot point that the dachshund gets the credit instead of the elves; it shows someone at Terrytoons was trying to be creative. And this isn’t the only Terrytoons cartoon that has thrown me a curve in the plot department. But that doesn’t change the fact that the animation is subpar in comparison with nearly all the other animation studios. Nor does it make up for the fact that the plot twist really doesn’t lead the cartoon in any interesting direction after it is used. Sadly, I’ve come to realize that the majority of the output from Terrytoons is dreary and uninspired. There’s a reason why most of their output has fallen into obscurity.